My favorite thing about this painting is the sense of a world untouched by humans -sky and waves that have existed before humanity evolved on Earth, and will exist long after we have gone. It captures something eternal for me, which is why I didn't sign the front or the sides. I wanted to keep the illusion of being "untouched" intact.
Waves on Water. Oil on pine. 15" x 7 1/2". 2013
I painted "Waves on Wood" as a commission for a sailor friend of mine,
who requested a panel of my "pointy waves," after seeing Adventure at
Sea and A Friend at Sea.
I'm so glad he suggested the idea of painting on wood, which I hadn't done artistically before.
I was immediately excited by the idea of playing with the grain to
create the effect of
clouds being kissed with fiery sunlight, and spent some time choosing
the piece of board I wanted to work with, based on the grain lines,
before cutting it to size, and then layering on the paint.
I didn't gesso the wood because I really wanted to use the grain, so it sucked up quite a bit of oil paint, but was totally worth it. I'm looking forward to more painted improvisations on wood soon!
(You can see a bit of my process below.)
